FIDM Museum Blog

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac Shirtdress

We are one week away from the presidential election - have you made your plan to vote? Whether it’s early or on election day, in-person or by mail, we have the perfect garment to encourage your sense of civic duty: a 1980s linen shirtdress printed with the words of the United States constitution. Surprisingly, this tribute to American democracy was designed by a Frenchman, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac (b. 1949). Known for irreverent, whimsical designs, Castelbajac’s fascination with the United States is clear in his frequent use of Americana throughout his fifty plus years in the fashion industry.

Printed linen shirtdress, 1980s
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
FIDM Museum Purchase: Funds generously donated by Barbara Bundy

Shirtdress back

Castelbajac’s aristocratic family has deep roots in France and a long history of military service - his ancestors were said to have fought alongside Joan of Arc!^[1] Jean-Charles, like his musician father before him, opted for a life devoted to the arts instead. He was introduced to fashion through his mother’s tailoring company in Limoges; from this workshop, he and his mother created his first company, Ko & Co. After moving to Paris in 1968, Castelbajac apprenticed for Pierre d’Alby, and later became part of the Créateurs et Industriels, a group of young ready-to-wear designers that included Issey Miyake, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Emmanuelle Khanh, and Thierry Mugler.^[2] In addition to establishing his eponymous house in 1978, Castelbajac has worked as head designer for Max Mara and Courrèges; he is currently the artistic director of the United Colors of Bennetton.

The designer found major success in the early 1970s when he created an oversized wool coat made from his old boarding school blanket - a look that combined comfort, nostalgia, and a touch of eccentricity. The style became a signature, and kicked off a grand tradition of mixing unusual materials with high fashion. He favors natural textiles like wool and linen, and is well-known for his use of figurative objects such as plush dolls (Snoopy, Kermit the Frog, and teddy bears). Following in the footsteps of Surrealist fashion designers like Elsa Schiaparelli - see his collection celebrating Man Ray - Castelbajac always incorporates his lifelong love of contemporary art into his designs. He was once a noted collector of Neo-Expressionist pieces; now, he concentrates on creating his own artwork. He frequently collaborated with artists on his fashion show announcements, and later invited them to hand-paint his dresses. Robert Mapplethorpe, Jean-Charles Blais, Robert Malaval, Deborah Tuberville, and Keith Haring were part of Castelbajac’s inner circle, and contributed to his reputation as an artist first, designer second.

Remembering Kenzo Takada

In 1970, a small boutique in Galerie Vivienne, Paris - painted top to bottom with lush vegetation as a tribute to Henri Rousseau’s The Dream - brought a fresh sartorial perspective to the venerated fashion capital. The store, Jungle Jap, was an antithesis to the buttoned-up couture creations on Avenue Montaigne; instead, cheerful prints, bright colors, and voluminous silhouettes were executed in inexpensive cottons purchased at flea markets or the Marché Saint-Pierre, Montmartre’s discount fabric market. This clothing was dynamic and accessible, and the boutique attracted a young crowd eager to sway the tides of fashion’s status quo. The quiet man behind these free-spirited designs was Kenzo Takada (1939 - 2020).

Kenzo Takada with Carol LaBrie, in his design, 1971. Photo: Richard Gummere / New York Post Archives / © NYP Holdings, Inc. via Getty Images

Growing up in Himeji, Japan, Takada was constantly drawing; in his career, he produced over 7,800 sketches.^[1] Though he had always wanted to study fashion, there were few opportunities for men to enter the field in his home country, so he studied literature at Kobe University instead. When Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo began accepting male students, Takada was among the first to enroll. In 1960, he won a prize from Soen, a Japanese fashion magazine, and went on to design for the Sanai department store.^[2] Yet it was the 1964 Tokyo Olympics that truly changed the course of his career. Takada’s apartment building was demolished to make way for the Olympic grounds, and he used the compensation money to fulfill his lifelong dream of visiting Paris.

Along with a classmate from Bunka, Takada made his way to Paris via a month-long boat trip with stops in Hong Kong, Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Singapore, Colombo, Bombay (Mumbai), Djibouti and Alexandria.^[3] This exposure to new countries, cultures, and people would have a profound impact on Takada’s design aesthetic. He frequently incorporated a “cultural kaleidoscope”^[4] into his work, exploring folklore traditions and including a roster of diverse models in his runway shows. The trip inspired the motto for his future clothing line: the world is beautiful. 

Glass beaded choker
Kenzo Takada, 1997-1999
Gift of Mary Dubrow
2005.855.12

Takada fell under the spell of Paris. Though he intended to stay for a few months, he remained there for the rest of his life - over 56 years. He enrolled in language classes and made a meager living selling sketches to design houses, including Louis Féraud. He was hired at Pisanti, a clothing manufacturing company, where he produced drawings and garment toiles. In a 1965 letter to his mother, Takada expressed his joy and astonishment that he played an active role in the city’s fashion industry: “After all, being admitted into that world is what makes me happiest. Here, in Paris.”^[5]

Just five years after his arrival in Paris, Takada and two friends opened a boutique in the spirit of London’s progressive shops on King’s Road and Carnaby Street. The name - Jungle Jap - posed problems when the brand eventually expanded to New York and was sued by the Japanese American Citizens League. However, Takada defended his use of ‘Jap’, a derogatory term in the States, explaining “I thought if I did something good, I would change the meaning.”^[6] The name was not an issue in France, and the store struck a chord with Parisians hungry for the freedom of movement and gaiety of Takada’s clothing. Takada had taken a trip home before designing his first collection, where he rediscovered the beautiful textiles and garments of Japan. The resulting fashions fused traditional Japanese styles with French sensibilities. Intentionally free of zippers, voluminous in silhouette, and constructed in lightweight fabrics, Takada’s clothing was “an expression of his complete personality.”^[7]

Jungle Jap displaced antiquated ideas of clothing and class; in Takada’s view, “Fashion is not for the few - it is for all the people. It should not be too serious.”^[8] Shy and quiet, yet fun-loving and mischievous, Takada embraced the energy of the Paris club scene, dancing all night and designing all day (he jokingly admitted, "I didn’t sleep much between 1970 and 1971.”)^[9] His runway shows, known for their spectacle and party-like atmosphere, became the hottest ticket in town. His global aesthetic influenced other designers, both on the couture runway and in ready-to-wear stores. He became known for mixing patterns and colorful floral fabrics inspired by his favorite painters. Takada stayed away from the business aspects of Jungle Jap in the early days, leaving the management to his partners, something that perhaps helped his initial successes. He recalled, “I did any old thing I felt like doing without analyzing whether it was commercial. I just happened at the right time - at the time when the young French woman was finally ready to let herself go.”^[10]